E3 2008
See also E3 2009 '''E3 2008' is a video game conference that will take place July 14-17, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. E3 events are considered one of the premier events to make announcements to the video game industry. The event is surrounded by great anticipation and speculation. Microsoft starts off their press conference on Monday at 10:30am Pacific time, followed by Nintendo and Sony on Tuesday at 9:30am and 11:30am respectively. Head over to NeoGAF(mirror) for links to aggregate news and streaming video. Rumors and expectations Heading into E3 2008, there is pressure on all companies to make announcements that will give one an edge over the other. In Nintendo's case, major rumors speculate on a Wii storage solution and several titles to appeal to the core crowd.http://wii.ign.com/articles/882/882256p1.html A Kid Icarus game has been rumored to be in development by Factor 5 and is possible it will be shown. There is speculation all over the board about which games Nintendo will announce for the latter half of 2008 and 2009, ranging from Pikmin 3, Animal Crossing Wii, Kid Icarus, Pilot Wings, a new Zelda title, and more.http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168687 There is speculation that Microsoft will revamp Xbox Live and add a form of avatar support, similar to Wii's Mii. Arguably the biggest rumors are announcements of a motion sensitive controller (codenamed "Newton") and a Blu-Ray add-on, though Microsoft has denied this on several occasions. A price cut is rumored, although considered unlikely. Likewise, an updated Xbox 360 SKU with a larger hard drive is a possibility. Dead Rising 2 may be announced as a cross-platform title. Sony is rumored to be working on a new "break-apart" motion-based controller for the PlayStation 3 and E3 would be the right time for a full unveiling if true. Little has been shown of Final Fantasy XIII and Kingdom Hearts, so there may be surprises. No price cut is expected since Sony is focusing on profiting from PS3 for 2008 rather than market share. A leak was found in June 2008 on market research firm IntelliSponse's website that gave indication of several games, including a music-game LIPS, Forza 3, new additions to the Spider-Man franchise, an adventure game Crucible, as well as a new Tony Hawk game using a board for the Xbox 360. There will almost certainly be trailers and/or demos to already announced sequels such as Resident Evil 5, Red Steel 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2, Bioshock 2, Fable 2, Halo Wars, Final Fantasy XIII. Announcements and hype 'E3 2008 Microsoft Microsoft revealed the features of their Fall 2008 dashboard update which includes a revamped user interface and an avatar system, similar to the Mii. A partnership with Netflix and NBC Universal was reached which will allow streaming content via Xbox Live.http://gear.ign.com/articles/889/889071p1.html Most of the game-related news was about titles already known. The most surprising announcement (megaton) at the press conference, and one of the most unexpected ever at any E3 conference, was Square-Enix announcing the development of Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360. Final Fantasy was considered to be a major exclusive and likely system seller for the PlayStation 3. The blockbuster title will launch simultaneously on both systems in 2009. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/888/888967p1.html Recap and Analysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j41YH5CeZ0 Nintendo Nintendo focused on the casual crowd. A new Animal Crossing game was announced for the holiday season.http://wii.ign.com/articles/889/889629p1.html The game includes a microphone peripheral called WiiSpeak. Before E3 began, Nintendo revealed Wii MotionPlus for the Wii Remote. This accessory enables enhanced real-time response. Wii Sports Resort, the sequel to the bundled game, will feature frisbee, jet-skiing, and sword fighting.http://wii.ign.com/articles/889/889659p1.html It includes the remote accessory and will be released in Spring 2009. Wii Music announced for Fall 2008 which has over 50 instruments and can use the Wii Remote and the Balance Board.http://wii.ign.com/articles/889/889662p1.html The biggest announcement concerning the Nintendo DS was that Rockstar will be publishing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for release this year. Recap and Analysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sMf04_zVQA Sony Sony started off by using Little Big Planet to show graphs and charts and the lineup for PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits. To expand their entertainment strategy, Sony showed a new video download service which allows users to buy or rent movies from a large selection of movie publishers. Lastly, they announced and revealed a non-gameplay trailer for ''MAG (Massive Action Game). The title features a 256 player, squad-based action. Recap and Analysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy0wDKpAKJc Reception 2008]] An IGN online poll showed 56% of those who voted thought Microsoft was the "winner of E3." Sony followed with 34.4% and Nintendo was last with less than 10%. *TheAge.com *Xbox360 impressions *New York Times impressions *Edge-Online *Analyst: Xbox 360 Best of Show at E3 *Winners and Losers *Best games of E3 *Analysis by Michael Pachter IGN Best of E3 awards *Overall · PC PS3 · PSP · Wii · DS · X360 :Console game of E3 2008: Fallout 3 :PS3 game of E3: Fallout 3 :Wii game of E3: The Conduit :X360 game of E3: Fallout 3 :PC game of E3 2008: Spore Miscellaneous *Microsoft: "Where else but Xbox Live can you introduce an avatar and immediately have it become a community of 12 million avatars."http://www.gamespot.com/news/6193729.html *Microsoft: "Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PlayStation 3."http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=200989 *Nintendo: Regarding a question about the lack of Wii core games at E3, Reggie Fils-Aimes reply, "How could you feel left out? The Animal Crossing that we've been hearing about that people wanted,fully connected to the Internet, go to other people's towns. Plus as I said, Grand Theft Auto on the DS. How do you feel left out with those types of announcements?"http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=193336 References External links *Official site of E3 *E3 2008 thread at NeoGAF (mirror) ;Rumors *E3 2008 expectations *Xbox 360 Predictions for E3 2008 *E3 2008's Most Popular Rumors: Will They Happen? *Most anticipated games (next-gen.biz) ;Reactions *Edge-Online *Analyst: Xbox 360 Best of Show at E3 Category:Video game industry